Young Justice: "Homefront" Review

Can regular old humans Robin and Artemis save their super-powered pals?

Robin and Artemis (and Wally to a lesser degree) finally return to Young Justice in this week's episode, "Homefront," as Mount Justice comes under attack from a pair of very familiar-looking red androids.

And while it's great to finally have Robin doing that Robin thing he does so well again, this is really Artemis' episode. In fact, we kick things off with a flashback where she recalls the night when her sister -- the girl would become the assassin Cheshire! -- left home. Clearly these two siblings' family life is all kinds of messed up, which is probably why one wound up working for the League of Shadows and the other is quite possibly a mole in her own super-group.

Back in the present day, it's the first day of school for Artemis at Gotham Academy (remember she landed that scholarship from Bruce Wayne?). Of course, a certain young Mr. Grayson also attends the academy (as does Barbara Gordon in a cameo -- sans batsuit, alas). Dick has some fun at Artemis' expense as he clearly knows her secret identity, and he has her at a disadvantage as she isn't aware that he's actually the Boy Wonder.

Later the pair -- now in costume -- run into each other at a zeta tube station in Gotham. They engage in some fun back and forth, speaking in spelling-bee talk (gotta see it). Then they teleport to The Cave at Mount Justice, only to immediately find themselves in the middle of a firefight. From here "Homefront" is almost non-stop action, as Robin (grace under pressure personified) and Artemis (increasingly fraying at the edges) must try to save their incapacitated teammates.

The notion of the two team members who have no superpowers having to swoop in and save their ostensibly more mighty friends is a nice one, and Robin in particular gets to show off his skills here as he tosses bat-bombs, reprograms computers, and generally kicks ass -- often underwater! When Artemis asks him how he can take all of this in stride, his response is that he's been doing this sort of thing since he was nine.

But the script falters with Artemis. She seems to be acting a bit out of character here, easily overwhelmed by the villains who've attacked her team. The result is that she doesn't get a heck of a lot of cool action moments, but it's also a distracting arc. She literally assumes the fetal position at one point out of fear!

Of course, this is all leading to Artemis having a big moment at the episode's finale, which she does. But then that beat is undermined by a twist ending that is also quite anticlimactic. Though at least it's not another menacing reference to The Light.

Some notes: What's up with Red Tornado's "siblings"? This must tie into the Mister Twister thread from earlier in the season. (Then again, doesn't everything tie into everything on this show eventually?) The mystery involving the mole on the team deepens, as Artemis only seems more loyal to the Young Justice gang than ever now. Could it be someone else who is going to betray them? Or did we just see that very thing happen in this episode? And hey, gotta love the cape-less Robin. Good look!